Two international organizations combined their efforts to catch the attention of students passing by the Mezzanine on their way to Java U last Monday. Free the Children (FTC) and Students Taking Action in Chiapas (STAC) collaborated with a singular mission: to raise funds and educate people about what’s going on globally.
This appeared a difficult task as students whizzed by to classes, but the organizer of the FTC table, Donna Pinsky was optimistic about their fundraising efforts.
“It’s a small effect, it’s like a little drop in the ocean, but if you didn’t have that drop in the ocean, your ocean would be a little bit less, right?”
Her table was filled with baked goods, colourful socks for sale, and a jar filled with Hershey’s Kisses. Many students stopped to donate 50 cents and guess how many were in the jar.
A video presentation showed the purpose and history of FTC, an international network of children helping children. It focuses on school building projects, alternative income programs, medical centres and clean water programs in countries that need assistance.
According to the FTC web site, the organization aims to “free children and young people from the idea they are powerless to bring social change and improve the lives of their peers.”
The FTC was started in 1995 by a 12-year-old Canadian boy named Craig Kielbuger. He read an article about a 12-year-old child labourer in Pakistan who was murdered because he spoke up about his working conditions. Kielburger took action in his school and later internationally to affect change.
The STAC table sold hand-knit goods made by an artisan collective in Chiapas, Mexico. There were key chains, pencil holders and bags for sale. James Taylor was running the STAC table.
He explained that the primary goal of STAC is to inform people about the Zapatistas, an indigenous people in southern Mexico.
“One of the main things we focus on is the Indigenous Education Network,” Taylor said.
“Zapatistas have declared themselves autonomous from the Mexican government so they don’t accept any kind of government aid from the Mexican government.
“They are totally reliant on themselves and on the international community to support them, so we support them with funds so they can build their own autonomous education system and can teach about their traditional language and culture.”
STAC has existed in Montreal for four years and is run by the Quebec Public Interest Research group at McGill University.
The fundraising table was first for STAC Concordia, although the group is active in many other ways. They organize film showings, panel discussions, and event speakers to inform people about the Zapatistas’ struggles.
Next month a film called Zapatista!, about political struggle and the civil war in Mexico, will be shown as part of the Cinema Politica free film series at Concordia.
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